Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

Today is December 31st.  Facebook is being bombarded with people's posts wishing everyone in the world a Happy New Year.  It got me thinking.  What is my wish?  For myself?  For my friends and Family?   What do people really mean when they say "Happy New Year"? I guess part of us simply wants to wish people to have a smooth year.  Perhaps a year when all our wishes and plans work out.  Or perhaps a year where no one we know gets a life threatening disease.  Or perhaps a year when all our current problems are resolved.  Or a year when we are finally able to meet our financial needs and not be in the red.  Or a year where we see our kids behave and obey as we wished they would......so many wishes...... What do we want in 2012??? There are so many things I want - I want to: - Be more patient with my kids - be a better mom and wife - Have more wisdom in my day to day decisions - Feel accomplished - Exercise more, eat less. ...

I have been reading a lot about the need for us, the Church, to really re-prioritize our lives to go back to the heart of Jesus.  It has made me think for sure, about how I prioritize my life and I have been wondering what areas of my own life were not n-sync with the Lord's heart. But it was not easy to see what areas of my life needed change.  Seriously.  I was having trouble with that.  And I kept asking God to please help me see.  If I cannot see, how can I change? But alas - God had plans to show me how desperately I needed to see.  After all, I had asked...so He was going to show me. Last November was one such occasion where God showed me an area in my life where I needed to make serious changes - at the heart level - if I was really serious about calling God my LORD. November is always a crazy month.  I was born in November.  My son was born in November.  I started dating Stephen in November, and I got married in November. ...

I got these from a friend via email.  Read on.  You should at least smile if not laugh....and perhaps that is just the kind of thing you need today! Enjoy! How do sheep in Mexico say Merry Christmas? Fleece Navidad! What do you get when you cross an archer with a gift-wrapper? Ribbon Hood. What goes Ho, Ho, Swoosh, Ho, Ho, Swoosh? Santa Claus caught in a revolving door. What do you call Santa's helpers? Subordinate Clauses. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite What do monkeys sing at Christmas? Jungle Bells, Jungle bells. Why are Christmas trees like bad knitters? They both drop their needles! A Christmas thought: STRESSED is just DESSERTS spelled backward. What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? It's Christmas, Eve What do you call a letter sent up the chimney on Christmas Eve? Black mail! Why was Santa's little helper depressed? Because he had low elf esteem   You do know what  would  have happened if it had...

I like security, routine and familiarity.  I don't like change.  My kids go to nap and bed at almost exactly the same time every day.  Change stresses me out.  Even the smallest change in my routine will throw me off.  No...I'm not very adventurous by nature.  Life just seems a lot easier when it is predictable. But despite that, my life can be described well with one single word:  CHANGE. Not my own doing.  I guarantee you that. Blame it on God.  He continues to remind me of the dangers of being comfortable, of seeking security.  I have noticed a pattern in my life.  God has never allowed me to feel 100% comfortable in one place for too long: 1.  When my brother Andy was born (I was 4) my life turned upside down.  I was no longer the centre of attention in my family. 2.  My parents moved to Peru 6 months after I started Grade 1 in Hong Kong.  I was sent to school on day 3 of having stepped on Peruvian soil...

"Mission is risky.  It involves putting ourselves out of our comfort zones and dealing with people we ordinarily might not engage with" - Right Here Right Now Lately I've been learning more about missions.  I have been challenged to rethink my beliefs on what God considers as His mission, where I fit into that picture, how motherhood fits into this calling, and what missional living really means. It has been a great year of stretching my mind, of paradigm shifts, of challenging me to make changes in my life and my family's life. But one thing kept on bugging me.... Jesus was a rebel in his times.  He never set up a church building or assigned people to start different programs or ministries.  He simply lived with the everyday people of his time.  He simply went to where 'they' were.  He met prostitutes, tax collectors, sinners.... How about me?  For as much as I talk about missions and how we ought to be 'missional' here (as opposed to just s...

Today we went to church - and I had already forewarned my husband that it would be a long service.  We had 10 people getting baptized this morning!  Even though Sarah was cranky and did not want to go to Sunday School Class downstairs, I was grateful she did not fuss around and just sat quietly besides us during the service. Many of the testimonies of these people getting baptized starts with "I've been raised in a Christian home" or "I've been coming to church all my life".  But today I noticed another common comment from the same type of crowd: "I didn't have a relationship with Jesus" or "I fought my parents over why I had to come to church every Sunday" or "I was the trouble maker" Heard it before? I have.  I've heard these type of testimonies over and over again. But now they take on a new meaning to me.  You see, I am a mother of 2 young kids now.  They were born in a Christian home.  They have been going t...

I just heard this poem by Adrian Plass.  Sharing this with you tonight: When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in, Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin. He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink, Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - I think. I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen, I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again? You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink, Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think. But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said, I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed. Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit, Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit. A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen, I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again? You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit, Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen - a ...

This is something I read while reading "The Missional Mom".  I like it a lot and is still something I read to remind me of the importance of living life to the fullest, the way God intends me to live - out loud! A Franciscan benediction: "May God Bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships So that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace May God bless you with tears To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and To turn their pain into joy. May God bless you with foolishness To believe that you can make a difference in the world So that you can do what others claim cannot be done To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor"

I can't remember where I took this, so my apologies to the owner... 10 Great Things to Remember when Raising Your Children Start training them as soon as they are old enough and when they are older they will know better.  “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”  (Proverbs 22:6) Discipline them whenever they need it.   “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him”  (Proverbs 22:15) Teach your children something from God’s Word every day.   “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up”  (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) Trust that your children are not destined for trouble.   “They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descenda...

Life is a never ending experience.  As I reflect upon the things that has happened during the last 4 years here in Calgary, I am amazed by the many blessings and trials God has allowed in my life.  You see, life for me is like a trip on a car throughout the continent.  Some countries are larger, so they take longer to cross, while other are very tiny and it is not hard to get across.  Some highways are really good while others are so bad that it slows you down.  My life with God has been exactly like that.  There has been so many occasions where I could have just given up on the trip and stop driving.  Loneliness and depression after leaving High School, then my brother’s illness and death, frustration at school, not knowing what’s ahead, and the list goes on and on.  Yet, God was my source of hope, hope that the border to another country would be near and that He himself would guide me to it even though I didn’t know where I was going to. Gradu...